Business transactions often require paper documents issued by one of the transaction parties. The issuing party may transfer the paper document to another transaction party. For example, one party may issue a paper check as payment to another party.
At some point after the paper document has been transferred, the validity of the document may require authentication. In the case of a paper check, the check may require authentication at the time it is presented for deposit. The bank of the issuing party may hold payment of the check amount until the bank has verified the identity of the issuing party.
Conventionally, a paper document is authenticated based on a signature. In the case of a paper check, the bank of the issuing party may verify the signature of the issuing party on a check presented for deposit. The bank may authenticate the check based on the customer signature.
Authenticating a document based on a signature presents serious security risks. A signature may be forged or otherwise imitated. A more secure method of authentication relies on a unique biometric indicator such a fingerprint or a retinal scan. However, a paper document is not easily adapted to incorporate such forms of biometric authentication. Moreover, associating a biometric indicator with a paper document exposes sensitive biometric information to tampering or theft.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide apparatus and methods that incorporate biometric authentication into a paper-based transaction. It would be desirable to provide biometric authentication in a secure manner that protects against exposure of the biometric information.